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The Menace of the White Dwarf
The Menace of the White Dwarf is the twelfth episode of the first season of the [[Super Friends (TV Series)|'Super Friends' television series]]. The episode featured a truly evil villain named the Raven, who along with Noah Tall and Roy La Post, are the only villains to really fit that category in the show thus far, as most episodes up to this point have only featured misguided individuals as antagonists. Here, the Raven is portrayed as being an enemy of Superman, who apparently put the villain away at some point in the past. The character is a mad scientist. This episode is rich in educational material about astronomy and physics. We learn about white dwarf stars, gravity and also the way trials function in the legal system. This is also the first time in the series that the destruction of Krypton is depicted. This is the first of four times that this is shown. The second being in this season's The Planet-Splitter, the third being in Season 3's Secret Origins of the Superfriends and the fourth being in 1983's The Krypton Syndrome. A backstory relating to the destruction of Krypton is told in this story, stating that a chunk of Kryptonite which fell to Earth ended up on the farm of Paw Martingale. He ends up keeping it for good luck. Interestingly, although this is not the first episode to feature Kryptonite, it is the first time that Marvin White and Wendy Harris seem to be aware of it, which seems to indicate that this episode takes place chronologically before the other episodes with Kryptonite that aired prior to this episode. Although this isn't completely clear, because when the Junior Super Friends are introduced to the Kryptonite it is referred to as a sky stone. It's possible that they just weren't aware that the stone was actually Kryptonite, and therefore they were unaware that it would hurt Superman. But this isn't made clear, and seems less likely. __TOC__ Synopsis The SuperFriends investigate when certain objects disappear and are placed elsewhere. Our heroes are dismayed to discover that a white dwarf is responsible for the disappearances. The culprit behind the white dwarf is Raven, a dangerous scientist from another planet, who values science over human life. Raven has escaped the prison specially designed to hold a genius like himself, and he has a personal vendetta against Superman for putting him there. Raven operates from an artificial island in the sky, and he’s been trying to purchase a green stone from the sky from the Martingales, a hillbilly family that refuses to sell it. The stone is none other than Kryptonite, Superman’s most deadly weakness. Raven vows to steal a monumental building. Wendy and Marvin wind up in that building while they are on their way to warn the SuperFriends. They meet Raven, who makes a deal with Superman to exchange the building for the Kryptonite he wants. Raven then proceeds to put Superman on trial. Plot Summary Cast Locations * Hall of the Justice League *Wheeler Junction unknown location *Clearview most likely a neighborhood or a suburb of Gotham City * Gateview Prison * Cape Hatteras, on the coast of North Carolina * Atlantic Ocean * Washington, D.C. **Supreme Court Building ** United States Capitol **Washington Monument **White House (mentioned only) *Raven's Island in the Sky Celestial Bodies *White dwarf * Krypton Government Agencies * Secret Department of Investigation * United States National Observatory * National Strategy Council Vehicles *Batmobile * Wonder Woman’s Invisible Jet * Batcopter * U.S.S. Narwhal Items *Justice League Monitor in the Hall of Justice *SDI screen in the Hall of Justice * Justice League Computer in the Hall of Justice *Video bank in the Hall of Justice *A ring belonging to the Raven * Neptune's girdle, a virtually indestructible species of seaweed *Kryptonite *Kryptonian mushroom Continuity Coming Soon! Continuity in Other Media Coming Soon! Episode Title The title of the episode refers to the menace caused by the White dwarf that the Raven used for his crimes. Notes *The Raven was the name of the supervillain in this episode, which is also the name of a female superhero from the Teen Titans. At the time that this episode aired, Raven had yet to make her first appearance. *References:chicken farm, summer, spacecraft, Gravity Field, viewing screen, crane driver, toes, Wheeler Junction, Carverville, Clearview, Grover's Corner, elevator, party, speckled hen, egg, rocking chair, Kerosene lamp, Raven's robots, Martingale family, filing cabinet, invalid, Lady Justice, Rao system, Phalon, Kryptonian crystals, Brown Kryptonite, Purple Kryptonite, Feather duster, United States of America, Taxi driver, white cat, United States Senate, Golly, National Strategy Council member, National Strategy Council Member, NSC member, NSC Member, N.S.C. Member, blue-whale, Blue Whale and saw-fish. Quotes Coming Soon! Production and animation errors *The Menace of the White Dwarf (Production and animation errors) External links *The Menace of the White Dwarf at the DC Database *The Menace of the White Dwarf at the Internet Movie Database Category:Episodes Category:1973 Releases